Republic Act No. 10660; jurisdiction of Sandiganbayan amended.

See - Republic Act No. 10660 | Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines

"x x x.

SEC. 2. Section 4 of the same decree, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

SEC. 4. Jurisdiction. The Sandiganbayan shall exercise exclusive original jurisdiction in all cases
involving:

a. Violations of Republic Act No. 3019, as amended, otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt
Practices Act, Republic Act No. 1379, and Chapter II, Section 2, Title VII, Book II of the Revised Penal
Code, where one or more of the accused are officials occupying the following positions in the
government, whether in a permanent, acting or interim capacity, at the time of the commission of the
offense:

(1) Officials of the executive branch occupying the positions of regional director and higher, otherwise
classified as Grade 27 and higher, of the Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989
(Republic Act No. 6758), specifically including:

(a) Provincial governors, vice-governors, members of the sangguniang panlalawigan, and provincial
treasurers, assessors, engineers, and other provincial department heads:

(b) City mayors, vice-mayors, members of the sangguniang panlungsod, city treasurers, assessors,
engineers, and other city department heads;

(c) Officials of the diplomatic service occupying the position of consul and higher;

(d) Philippine army and air force colonels, naval captains, and all officers of higher rank;

(e) Officers of the Philippine National Police while occupying the position of provincial director and
those holding the rank of senior superintendent and higher;

(f) City and provincial prosecutors and their assistants, and officials and prosecutors in the Office of
the Ombudsman and special prosecutor;

(g) Presidents, directors or trustees, or managers of government-owned or controlled corporations,

state universities or educational institutions or foundations.

(2) Members of Congress and officials thereof classified as Grade 27 and higher under the
Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989;

(3) Members of the judiciary without prejudice to the provisions of the Constitution;

(4) Chairmen and members of the Constitutional Commissions, without prejudice to the provisions of
the Constitution; and
(5) All other national and local officials classified as Grade 27 and higher under the Compensation and
Position Classification Act of 1989.

b. Other offenses or felonies whether simple or complexed with other crimes committed by the public
officials and employees mentioned in subsection a. of this section in relation to their office.

c. Civil and criminal cases filed pursuant to and in connection with Executive Order Nos. 1, 2, 14 and
14-A, issued in 1986.

Provided, That the Regional Trial Court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction where the information:
(a) does not allege any damage to the government or any bribery; or (b) alleges damage to the
government or bribery arising from the same or closely related transactions or acts in an amount not
exceeding One million pesos (P1,000,000.00).

Subject to the rules promulgated by the Supreme Court, the cases falling under the jurisdiction of
the Regional Trial Court under this section shall be tried in a judicial region other than where the
official holds office.

In cases where none of the accused are occupying positions corresponding to Salary Grade 27 or
higher, as prescribed in the said Republic Act No. 6758, or military and PNP officers mentioned above,
exclusive original jurisdiction thereof shall be vested in the proper regional trial court, metropolitan
trial court, municipal trial court, and municipal circuit trial court, as the case may be, pursuant to their
respective jurisdictions as provided in Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, as amended.

The Sandiganbayan shall exercise exclusive appellate jurisdiction over final judgments, resolutions or
orders of regional trial courts whether in the exercise of their own original jurisdiction or of their
appellate jurisdiction as herein provided.

The Sandiganbayan shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over petitions for the issuance of
the writs of mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, habeas corpus, injunctions, and other ancillary writs
and processes in aid of its appellate jurisdiction and over petitions of similar nature, including quo
warranto, arising or that may arise in cases filed or which may be filed under Executive Order Nos. 1, 2,
14 and 14-A, issued in 1986: Provided, That the jurisdiction over these petitions shall not be exclusive of
the Supreme Court.

The procedure prescribed in Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, as well as the implementing rules that the
Supreme Court has promulgated and may hereafter promulgate, relative to appeals/petitions for
review to the Court of Appeals, shall apply to appeals and petitions for review filed with the
Sandiganbayan. In all cases elevated to the Sandiganbayan and from the Sandiganbayan to the Supreme
Court, the Office of the Ombudsman, through its special prosecutor, shall represent the People of the
Philippines, except in cases filed pursuant to Executive Order Nos. 1, 2, 14 and 14-A, issued in 1986.

In case private individuals are charged as co-principals, accomplices or accessories with the public
officers or employees, including those employed in government-owned or controlled corporations, they
shall be tried jointly with said public officers and employees in the proper courts which shall exercise
exclusive jurisdiction over them.

Any provisions of law or Rules of Court to the contrary notwithstanding, the criminal action and the
corresponding civil action for the recovery of civil liability shall at all times be simultaneously instituted
with, and jointly determined in, the same proceeding by the Sandiganbayan or the appropriate courts,
the filing of the criminal action being deemed to necessarily carry with it the filing of the civil action,
and no right to reserve the filing of such civil action separately from the criminal action shall be
recognized: Provided, however, That where the civil action had heretofore been filed separately but
judgment therein has not yet been rendered, and the criminal case is hereafter filed with the
Sandiganbayan or the appropriate court, said civil action shall be transferred to the Sandiganbayan or
the appropriate court, as the case may be, for consolidation and joint determination with the criminal
action, otherwise the separate civil action shall be deemed abandoned.

The Case:
Danilo was a Regional Director of the Bureau of Internal Revenue with Salary
Grade 26 when he was charged with violation of Section 8 in relation to
Section 11 of Republic Act 6713. An Information was thus filed against him
before the Sandiganbayan. Prior to his arraignment, he filed a Motion to
Dismiss With Prayer to Defer the Issuance of Warrant of Arrest, asserting that
under Presidential Decree 1606 as amend by Section 4 (A) (1) of RA 8249, the
Sandiganbayan has no jurisdiction to try and hear a case because he is an
official of the executive branch occupying the position of a Regional Director
but with a compensation that is classified as below Salary Grade 27. The
Office of the Special Prosecutor opposed, arguing that he qualification as to
Salary Grade 27 and higher applies only to officials of the executive branch
other than the Regional Director and those specifically enumerated. This is so
since the term Regional Director and higher are separated by the
conjunction and, which signifies that these two positions are different, apart
and distinct, words but are conjoined together relating one to the other to
give effect to the purpose of the law. The fact that the position of Regional
Director was specifically mentioned without indication as to its salary grade
signifies the lawmakers intention that officials occupying such position,
regardless of salary grade, fall within the original and exclusive jurisdiction of
the Sandiganbayan.

The Sandiganbayan Second Division denied the motion, holding that the
position of Regional Director is one of those exceptions where the
Sandiganbayan has jurisdiction even if such position is not Salary Grade 27. It
was opined that Section 4 (A) (1) of R.A No. 8249 unequivocally provides that
respondent court has jurisdiction over officials of the executive branch of the
government occupying the position of regional director and higher, otherwise
classified as Salary Grade 27 and higher, of R.A. No. 6758, including those
officials who are expressly enumerated in subparagraphs (a) to (g). In support
of the ruling, this Courts pronouncements in Inding and Binay v.
Sandiganbayan were cited.
The petitioner elevated the issue to the Supreme Court.

The Issue:
Whether or not the Sandiganbayan has jurisdiction over the case.

The Ruling:
We find merit in the petition.

The creation of the Sandiganbayan was mandated by Section 5, Article XIII of

the 1973 Constitution.1 By virtue of the powers vested in him by the
Constitution and pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21,
1972, former President Ferdinand E. Marcos issued P.D. No. 1486.2 The decree
was later amended by P.D. No. 1606,3 Section 20 of Batas Pambansa Blg.
1294 P.D. No. 1860,5 and P.D. No. 18616.
With the advent of the 1987 Constitution, the special court was retained as
provided for in Section 4, Article XI thereof.7 Aside from Executive Order
Nos. 148 and 14-a,9 and R.A. 7080,10 which expanded the jurisdiction of the
Sandiganbayan, P.D. No. 1606 was further modified by R.A. No. 797511, R.A.
No. 8249,12 and just this year, R.A. No. 10660.13